Locals first in child-care plan

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Outsiders could be prevented from using council child-care
centres in Manly if a plan to give local residents priority access
to council child-care places is approved.

In what is believed to be a Sydney first, a Manly councillor,
Mark Norek, will tonight ask council to consider changing
child-care policy from a first-come, first-served system to one
that gives locals priority.

"There are five council-run centres in Manly and one of them has
750 kids on its waiting list, the others have 500," Cr Norek said
yesterday. "A lot of people think: if I'm a Manly resident and I
pay my rates, I should come before a Warringah resident in the
queue."

Places at Manly's child-care centres are in such high demand
because of their location, Cr Norek said. "[The centres] are
located on transport hubs and everybody wants to place their
children near a ferry or express bus that will get them into the
city." A catchment area-based system would be more "fair and
equitable" than the present one, he said.

If the motion is passed, council staff will prepare a report on
Manly's child-care system. The council would then work with the
neighbouring Pittwater and Warringah councils to find a solution,
Cr Norek said.

But Warringah Council's administrator, Dick Persson, said the
proposal could breach anti-discrimination legislation.

"Our policy is first come, first served, and we will await
further developments at Manly with interest," he said.

Pittwater Council declined to comment.

The practice of commuters dropping children off at a child-care
centres near transport hubs on their way to work is common across
Sydney.

North Sydney and City of Sydney have policies that give
preference to the children of residents and those who work in the
council area.

Waverley Council faced similar issues, a spokeswoman said.
"There's a percentage of children who live outside the area who
attend our centres, but council is not considering restricting
their access," she said.

The Mayor of Manly, Peter Macdonald, said: "We have to be beware
of becoming too boundary-conscious - we don't want this argument to
start coming into everything, like who uses our swimming
centres."